1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward the shipment of goods, and more particularly toward a skid for storing and shipping goods.
2. Background Art
A skid (or pallet) is used to store and ship an upright stack of goods. A skid rests on a generally horizontal support surface and has an upper surface engageable with the bottom of a stack of goods. The upper surface of a skid is upwardly offset from a support surface to facilitate shipment of the skid and the goods thereon. Particularly, the underside of a skid typically has a channel for receiving the tines of a conventional forklift or similar lifting device so the skid easily can be moved.
Large volumes of goods are stored and shipped on skids. It thus is more generally desirable for a skid to be easily and inexpensively manufactured (due to the number of skids required). Acceptable durability of a skid also is desirable in order to sustain the service life of a skid and preclude the necessity of purchasing a replacement skid. Further, it is preferred to minimize the weight of a skid to facilitate handling of a skid and permit an increased volume of goods to be shipped without exceeding the weight limitations of a vehicle in which the goods and skids are to be transported.
Many types of skids for storing and shipping goods are known. Naturally, skids have some common features. For example, it is typical for a skid to have substantially perpendicular spaced apart structural members. A skid commonly has lower structural members which extend in a first direction and which are adapted to rest on a support surface. Upper structural members rigidly secure the lower structural members and define a load engaging surface on the skid spaced above the support surface.
Despite the recognized commonalities, however, many types of skids have been proposed for satisfying the needs expressed above.
For instance, some skids are made of wood. Skids made of wood have generally flat slats fastened (such as by nailing or screwing) to opposite faces of elongate beams. Wood skids weigh approximately 60-65 pounds each. Wood skids also absorb water (for instance, when the skids are subjected to rain or snow) and thereafter become significantly heavier and difficult to handle. Broken components in a wood skid generally must be discarded and replaced, thereby contributing to the escalating problem of waste disposal.
Skids also are made of vacuum formed plastic. The process of vacuum forming a skid requires the heating of thick sheets of plastic and applying a vacuum to draw the melted plastic around a form. This approach has proved prohibitively expensive.
Additionally, skids are made of extruded plastic "lumber". Although extruded plastic skids generally are manufactured more inexpensively than vacuum formed skids, the weight of the mount of extruded plastic required to manufacture a skid having adequate strength characteristics is unacceptably large.